Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The silence is deafening. It's been very troubling that Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus has refused to provide a clear explanation of the error involving nearly 15,000 missing votes for more than a week, and I think it's crucial that Wisconsinites demand Nickolaus answer our questions now. Nickolaus must answer the relevant questions that manypeople, including the press, have asked before all of the vote counts are considered official. The Democratic member of the Waukesha County Board of Canvassers asked some questions here, and I asked some other questions that I believe are critical here. However, Nickolaus's only statement since the press conference has been to say that she declines to resign. Clearly, we must continue to pound away, demanding even louder that our questions be answered, because we're not getting through.

Regardless of the outcome of the election, we want to know that our elections are open, transparent and secure. Many of our questions get right to the heart of that desire. We need to know how our election systems work and that they're secure, because these computer systems are the final word. The only thing that trumps them is a recount, but recounts depend upon the original outcome. Even the amount of money that a recount will cost depends upon the results from these computer systems, and recounts tend to just make things worse. Counting votes right the first time is crucial. So, the answers should matter to you whether you live in Waukesha County or any other county in Wisconsin and whether you're a Republican, Democrat or independent.

We can't wait for a recount to try to find the answers. We the people of Wisconsin know so very little information at this point. So how do we know for sure that other votes haven't been lost, or that votes were never lost to begin with? Any missing votes could be the difference between needing a recount as well as how much a recount will cost Wisconsin tax payers. However, once all of the vote counts are considered official, the recount process will begin based on those counts. So, we need to know exactly what happened in Waukesha County before we can consider the counts official.

We shouldn't need to ask for an investigation to get answers to relevant questions regarding an election system. The Government Accountability Board shouldn't need to go to Waukesha County, and we shouldn't need a recount in Waukesha County to get answers. Our elections must be open and transparent, we deserve to know exactly how mistakes occur, but these questions should be answered now by Nickolaus in duty to her office. Anything less will cost Wisconsin and Waukesha County tax payers more.

We probably won't get a true answer to our questions from an investigation or a recount. Both processes take a lot of time and money, and both processes involve other people trying to determine what Nickolaus could simply tell us. We must demand that Kathy Nickolaus answer our relevant questions now before spending any more tax payer money.

It's Nickolaus's duty to provide us with answers to our simple and relevant questions regarding the election system in Waukesha County and the vote counting process. It's also her duty to clearly explain how mistakes occur. That's why there was a press conference last Thursday. Unfortunately for Wisconsin, Nickolaus didn't clearly explain the mistake, which can be seen by the difficulties the news media has in explaining the mistake in any detail, and we still have many relevant questions regarding Nickolaus's election system and her mistake that she refuses to answer. The openness of our elections depends upon the transparency and openness provided by those who run them.

Since it's been more than a week and we still haven't been given a clear explanation, I'm left with no choice but to continue with the clearest picture I can imagine. Again, here's the latest counts in two different scenarios, one assuming the Brookfield votes weren't originally reported and one assuming the Brookfield votes were originally reported.

There's only one county that has yet to finish their canvass, Milwaukee County. Once Milwaukee County completes their canvass, it's possible some people will consider all of the vote counts official. We thought Milwaukee County might complete their canvass Monday or Tuesday, but they're expected to finish Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.

Once all of the vote counts are considered official, a losing candidate has three business days to request a recount. Even then, the results of a recount depend upon review through the courts. So, as in the 2000 presidential election, one candidate may have truly won, but the court may decide differently or prevent further counting.

These counts are using the official numbers reported by counties at the completion of their canvass, all can be found at WisPolitics. Thanks to the WisPolitics election blog for keeping an updated tally and keeping us informed of corrections. The official counts for Crawford, Kenosha, Oneida, Sauk and Taylor counties have now been added to the GAB website. Counties, besides Milwaukee, not listed below had no net change.

These are the original numbers provided by the Associated Press on April 6, 2011.

Kathy Nickolaus, don't you think a week is long enough for Wisconsin to wait for a clear explanation of your simple and common "human error"?

If you haven't read my questions for Kathy Nickolaus, or the statement from the only non-Republican member of the Waukesha County Board of Canvassers, please do. I believe the answers to our questions should matter to every voter and tax payer in Wisconsin because, as I explained, our computer election systems are the final word in our elections.

A world-renowned security expert, Bruce Schneier, described some of the very real issues with election systems after questions over election security during the 2004 elections. The only way we can avoid situations like the one in Waukesha County is to demand open election systems that give our election systems true transparency. A non-profit organization that has been successful in these efforts is the Open Voting Consortium (I don't know them or have any affiliation).

This is our election, the people of Wisconsin, not Kathy Nickolaus's. It's our duty to demand answers.

If you want to have your voice heard regarding issues with the processes and security of the Waukesha County election system, the delayed explanation we were given for the missing votes, and Nickolaus's refusal to answer further questions, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board has a complaint form here: http://gab.wi.gov/node/1282. The election official in this case is Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus.

One Wisconsin Now is calling for a bipartisan investigation into the vote counts in Waukesha County. More than 10,000 Wisconsinites have signed the petition. You can add your name here, and I urge you to do so. Although, we still need to demand answers now.

You can help push Nickolaus to answer our questions now. Spread the word. Tell your friends and family about the questions you have and why you think Nickolaus should answer those before all of the vote counts are considered official. Contact the press and your state representatives, and demand to have our questions answered before the counts are considered official.

We haven't been loud enough so far. Contacting the press may prove to be most effective, and Facebook and Twitter are effective as well, so don't forget them. Time is of the essence.